It had been two days since Lelouch and Shirley’s meeting with Suzaku. After they had returned to the hotel, they had decided that the best course of action to take would be to go to the address that Suzaku had given them and meet up with Rivalz. They stayed at the hotel until about noon that day and then checked out. They stopped for lunch along the way and then went on ahead to the train station that would take them to Rivalz’s address, which just happened to be in Tokyo.
Lelouch and Shirley had sat next to each other the whole way (naturally) occasionally carrying on conversation over the two days. They talked about Suzaku, about Japan’s liberation, about Nunnally, about Shirley’s mother, about the Student Council, and about what might come of their meeting with Rivalz. Of course they were careful not to bring up anything that might give away Lelouch’s status as a Britannian prince or his former identity of Zero, should they be overheard by one of their fellow passengers.
Right now they were in the final stretch of their journey on the train as the conductor announced, “Next stop, Tokyo Metro Center.”
Shirley perked up. “Well, our stop is up next Lulu. You ready?”
He glanced over to her and smiled. “As I’ll ever be.”
As the train went back into motion, Shirley looked out the window to look at the city she was all too familiar. However, she noticed that many landmarks had the changed and the city looked quite different from how she remembered. “Wow, Tokyo sure looks different, doesn’t it Lelouch?”
Lelouch looked outside and he saw she was right. “Yeah, there must have been a lot of reconstruction done after Blackest Night.”
Shirley’s bright smile faded and her face slowly turned sad as she thought about all the people that must have died that day and how much it must have changed things.
“Yeah. I wonder what else has changed. I wonder how it affected Rivalz and Milly and Nina and the others. I hope they’re all okay.”
Lelouch took notice of her sad tone and held her hand. “Well, whatever’s happened, we’ll find out soon, and I’m sure it’ll all work out.” He smiled. She smiled back. As the train continued to move they looked out the window to see all the changes that had been made to the city they hadn’t seen for so long. There were a lot of new buildings that looked more modern and fancier than the ones they remembered and the city looked much more busy and industrious, but the overall layout was still basically the same. They took notice of and commented on the various locations until, finally, they reached their stop.
The train slowed down as it pulled into the station and the conductor announced, “Tokyo Metro Center.”
The trained came to a halt. The doors slid open and the passengers rose and began to exit the train. Lelouch rose from his seat. “All right, let’s go Shirley.”
He offered his hand to her and she graciously accepted it. They made their way off the train, carrying whatever few belongings they had. They walked through the threshold of the electric sliding doors, made their first steps onto the platform and they were officially back in Tokyo.
For a few seconds they simply stood and took it all in. They watched the hustle and bustle of the hundreds of people traveling about the train station, looked at the city skylines from the windows and soaked in the familiarity of the industrious city.
“Ah, it feels so good to be back in Tokyo Lulu.”
Lelouch smiled as he surveyed the bustling metropolis and he was filled with a genuine sense of satisfaction and nostalgia. “Yeah, it really does.”
He thought back to all the times, both good and bad, that he had had in the familiar city. And as he thought about it he realized that being back in Tokyo truly was a breath of fresh air compared to the life of isolation he had been living for so long.
“Hard to believe it’s been five years,” he said. He turned to Shirley. “I guess to you it doesn’t seem that long though, right?”
Of course he was referring to the fact that Shirley had been unconscious for most of the five years they’d been gone. Shirley thought about his words and, while there was some truth to what he said, it still seemed to her that she had been away from the city for a long while.
“It’s been long enough,” she said. Having soaked in the atmosphere of busy train station quite sufficiently, Shirley decided it was best to start moving. “Well, let’s go Lulu.”
She started to walk, but almost immediately she was stopped by Lelouch as he put his hand on her shoulder. “Shirley…I’m afraid I won’t be able to go.”
Quite taken aback by his words and actions, she turned to face him. “What do you mean Lelouch?”
“I’m sorry Shirley, but I can’t go with you to meet up with Rivalz.”
His words almost felt like a slap in the face. She had been very much looking forward to seeing Rivalz and had completely expected Lelouch to be there with her. “What are you saying Lelouch? Why not? We’ve come so far and traveled all this way together. How can you just back out now?”
“I’m not backing out, Shirley.” His words were quick and harsh, as if he were defending himself. Shirley gave a barely audible gasp, a bit startled by his words. Lelouch paused briefly and the calm returned to his voice. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, ever since our meeting with Suzaku, and I’ve made my decision. I’m going to find Nunnally.”
Shirley was quiet for a moment. She understood the reasoning behind Lelouch’s actions as well as the nobility of it, but she still felt uneasy about his sudden actions. “Lelouch…I can imagine how you must feel…but do you really have to leave right now? You don’t have to go rushing in. We can talk about this. Maybe we can find out somehow if…”
He cut her off. “You said yourself that we need to face our past Shirley. Nunnally is the only family I have left. I need to know if she’s alive.”
“I don’t understand. We’ve come all this way already. Rivalz is right nearby here. We can both go and see him together. Wouldn’t you at least like to see him before you do anything like this?”
“I’d like that Shirley, but unfortunately this can’t wait. The longer I wait the more likely it is that I won’t do it, and I can’t risk developing anymore attachments. This is just a transfer point for me. I’m getting on the red line which will take me to the Black Knight’s Headquarters.” They were both silent. Shirley was at loss for words and Lelouch could see the sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry Shirley, but I need to do this.”
She could see there was no hope in changing his mind, and deep down she did know that he had to do it. “Okay. I understand, Lelouch. Just promise me you’ll be careful, all right?”
He gave her a reassuring smile. “I will.” I felt a tinge of regret as he noticed Shirley still leaning on her cane. “I’m sorry to leave you alone in the state you’re in, but I’m sure you’ll make it to Rivalz okay, right?”
She thought for a moment, glancing down at her cane, but she gave a firm and positive response. “Yes. I’ll be fine Lelouch.”
“Good. Thank you for understanding, Shirley.” As he finished speaking, the red line train pulled into the station. “Well, that’s my train. I better get going.” The train came to a complete stop. The doors opened allowing the wave of passengers to exit and the next wave to enter. There were no words between them as Lelouch made his way onto the train. He stood just beyond the threshold and turned back to her.“Take care of yourself Shirley.”
It sounded as if it would be the last time they would see each other. She cried out as Lelouch stood inside the train.“I love you Lulu.”
He smiled. “I know.”
The doors sealed shut. The train went into motion, accelerating and soon enough vanishing into the dark tunnel and with that Shirley was on her own.